For some reason, I woke up feeling weaker than usual and made my way toward the bathroom.

After a quick wash, I went over to the mirror to dry my hair and was taken aback by what I saw.

‘What?”

My reflection in the mirror was me, but also not really me.

The appearance of golden hair that resembled strands of unraveling silk, golden eyes that seemed to hold the sun… It was exactly like the Saintess in Hero Maker.

‘Am I too exhausted?’

When I rubbed my eyes, I finally saw my face again.

‘I must have lost it for a second.’

Maybe I was too obsessed with Hero Makers. Or maybe I was just seeing things. I went to lay back down on my bed, putting the uneasy feeling behind me. I had an upcoming match a month from now and today was my only day off. For the time being, there will only be training, training, and training back to back.

‘Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and even the day after that, I’ll just finish this game. No matter how many days it takes, I’ll get a happy ending at all costs.’

Clenching my fists, I reminded myself of the pledge I made every night.

No matter what…

As soon as I lay down, drowsiness flooded in like a rising tide. As my eyes slowly closed, I thought I saw a faint white figure. But by then, my consciousness was already sinking into an unending darkness.

* * *

【Loading the last saved data.】

【Synchronization in progress.】

The voice sounded half human and half machine. Was that all? I’m sure I heard it clearly, but I can’t seem to remember the contents. It was as if the things I just heard got lost in my head.

“…up!”

It seemed it was already time to wake up, so I felt someone grabbing and shaking me. Weird. Mom usually didn’t wake me up like this.

‘I have to get up.’

Normally, I would have gotten up immediately, but for some reason, my body felt heavy. Maybe if I slept for another five minutes, I’ll feel more refreshed.

“Wake up!”

“Okay, just a little longer. Just five more minutes and I’ll get up.”

“You’re still sleep-talking! We don’t have much time left until the morning worship service!”

What did Mom use to call me?

When I was young, I thought my mom calling me a princess was cringey, so I was glad when she started calling me ‘my daughter’ once I grew up.

But what’s this morning worship service?

Did Mom or Dad believe in a religion?

‘No way.’

Both of them were far from religious. They were my parents, so there was no way I wouldn’t have known about something like that.

‘I must have misheard.’

As I pulled up my blanket and tried to close my eyes, I felt a strange sensation.

‘?’

The texture of the blanket, which should be soft, was rough as a ramie blanket that could only be used during the summer. My mom couldn’t have changed it while I was sleeping. I squinted my eyes at the unfamiliar feeling.

‘What the—where did all of my role models go?’

It was only then that I had a hunch something was terribly wrong. All the posters of the athletes that hung on my walls were gone, only leaving behind vacant dark-colored walls.

“What’s wrong with my bed?”

Rather than a queen-sized bed, I was laying on a worn-out wooden bed.

“I see you’re saying weird things as soon as you wake up. So typical of you, Sister.”

When I looked up at the owner of the voice, I saw a total stranger. She had a very youthful appearance, or rather, she looked more like a middle school girl.

‘I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.’

The freckles that dotted her nose, the costume that looked like a monastic robe worn in a convent in the Middle Ages – looking over her again, I could recognize some familiar features.

“Maria.”

The girl then called me.

‘Maria?’

The moment I heard a name other than my own, a screen flashed in front of my eyes.

[ Name : Maria Estelle ]

[ LV : ??? ]

[ Title: ??? ]

[ HP : ???] [ MP : ??? ] 

[ Strength : ??? ] [ Stamina: ??? ]

[ Agility: ??? ] [ Divine Power : ??? ]

:

:

<<View Details>>

[ Skill ]

[ Passive ]

[ ???? ] 

[ ???? ?? ] 

[ ????? ??(??? : ???) ] 

[ ??? ] [ ??? ] [ ??? ] 

[ Active ]

[ ?(???) ] 

[ ???? ] 

“What’s this.”

The screen that sprang up in my mind was an interface I had only seen in Hero Maker. Players called it the status window.

Except for the name, everything else was filled with question marks so I couldn’t figure out what was going. But the name alone helped me understand the current situation.

Maria Estelle.

‘She’s the Saintess in Hero Maker.’

The name of the Saintess as well as the status window that suddenly appeared in my mind.

‘It’s like I became Maria Estelle.’

I shook my head and groaned.

“Hah.”

The thought was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

‘You wake up and find yourself in your favorite game?’

Reality wasn’t some kind of sci-fi movie. Such a thing wasn’t possible.

It must be a dream.

In the past few days, I’ve had countless boxing matches and interviews. In the midst of it all, I would often play Hero Maker whenever I had free time. Maybe that’s why I was having such a wild dream.

【Welcome to Hero Maker.】

Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head again.

‘Did I just hear wrong? Welcome to where?’

It seemed as if time had stopped for a moment.

【Maria Estelle.】

Only when the voice confirmed it did time begin to flow again.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?!”

I jumped up from my spot.

“Gah!”

The girl let out a shrill cry.

“Why are you yelling all of a sudden!”

The girl protested with an angry face. Even so, I didn’t have time to care at the moment. An implausible situation was happening right in front of my eyes, which then caused me to have a headache.

‘My head feels heavy.’

So it wasn’t just an illusion I was feeling that way.

“Huh?”

From the moment I began boxing seriously, I have never grown out my hair this long to the point that it reached my waist. It was much lighter and easier to move around. How many years have I lived that way.

‘What, why is it so long?’

The waist-length hair was long enough to brush against my hand. And it was blonde too. The natural golden color that couldn’t be achieved with hair dye shone brightly even in the dark.

Two smooth slender hands without a trace of callus, arms and legs that looked like they would break with the slightest touch, they were too thin compared to my original body.

‘Is this my body?’

The voice I heard in my head, the hair that wasn’t mine, this miserable body, the old bed, and this room that looked to be in an old medieval convent.

Gathering all the evidence, the answer was that I became Maria Estelle.

‘If I close my eyes and open them again, everything will be back to normal. If I go to the kitchen, Mom will be making breakfast and Dad will be drenched in sweat from doing pull-ups in the morning.’

When I opened my eyes, nothing changed.

‘Then what about the Domestic Title Match to mark my return in a month? What about the next World Women’s Boxing Championships?’

How could such a shitty thing happen at this point in time when only the big tournaments were left? I clenched my fists harder.

In fact, I was more worried about how concerned my mother would be than the tournaments that I could easily win however many times I wanted. Our family’s Mrs. Choi always said that I was the joy of her life. She might have over-exaggerated a bit but she wasn’t lying.

With such a mother, I know exactly how she would react once she finds out that I’m gone. I’m sure she’ll turn all the nearby police stations upside down.

The problem was that my mother’s condition isn’t what it used to be. She had a major surgery scheduled in three weeks and the shock from the situation would only worsen her health…

‘I have to go back as soon as possible.’

Making up my mind, I decided it was best to clean up the messy situation first. Right now, it was stupid to deny that I couldn’t be Maria Estelle.

‘Where is this place?’

That was the first thing to figure out. I had a good guess, but it would be better to know for sure.

‘Hey, I want to ask you something.”

“…Has your excitement finally died down?”

The girl’s pupils were noticeably trembling as she stared at me. She was probably very shocked to see my actions just now.

‘I must look like a weirdo, but what can I do about it.’

It’s also my first time in a game.

“Mm, so where are we?”

“What?”

The girl’s eyes grew round.

“Hey, are you asking because you really don’t know?”

“This is the Grazia Convent, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

The girl immediately replied.

“…I was just confused for a moment, thank you.”

“How can you be confused about such a thing.”

The girl added cooly, but I was already distracted by something else.

‘I didn’t expect it to be true.’

Even though I confirmed it for myself, I was still bewildered. The Grazia Convent was a very familiar place to me. It was the starting point of Hero Maker’s tutorial.

I’ve seen it a dozen times, so why didn’t I recognize it right away? Is it because the atmosphere here is different from the actual game?

In any case, I’ve managed to grasp the general situation.

‘This is the world of Hero Maker, and I’ve become a Saintess.’

All that remains now is to return to reality. I couldn’t think of anything, so I only scratched my head.

‘Do I have to complete the main quest?’

That was the only thing that came to mind, but I wasn’t really sure. Because Hero Maker only has a bad ending.

‘If I complete the main quest and get a bad ending… What if I’ll never be able to go back?’

Of course, I won’t die, but that was when it was a game. I had no idea what would happen now that it’s become reality.

‘I’ve been holding on for years to see a happy ending.’

Should I just give up.

Don’t be ridiculous. I tightly clenched my fists. If I was going to harbor such weak thoughts, I wouldn’t even start in the first place.

‘Maybe it’s an opportunity.’

A chance to change the bad endings into a happy ending.

Once I made up my mind, I had to see it through to the end. I was able to win the gold medal in boxing because of that mindset. My counselor was worried that it might be a pathological obsession, but I didn’t think so. Rather, I always regarded it as a skill and also made it my belief.

‘So I can never give up.’

I slapped my cheeks with both of my hands. The tingling pain that came quickly dispelled the intrusive thoughts.

‘It won’t make any difference if I stay here doing nothing.’

Even if I get a bad ending, I had no choice but to act. In the end, proceeding with the main quest was the only answer to the current predicament.

‘It’s either all or nothing. If it doesn’t work, I’ll think about it then.’

The moment I made up my mind, a new message appeared.

【Synchronization in progress.】

【An Epic Quest will occur.】

【Epic Quest #HAPPY END】

【Achieve a Happy Ending (0/1)】

【Reward : Return to the original world.】

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